I love getting new clothes. I love finding something that makes me feel either pretty, is super comfortable, or is perfect for a certain occasion.

But I’m often torn with the feelings of guilt from spending needless money (I really don’t NEED anything new) as well as the fact that acquiring things I don’t need just seems wasteful.

One solution is to buy one thing that could be worn many different ways – convertible clothing.  But sometimes I’m looking for that certain print, special fabric, or specific piece of clothing. Now, I don’t care if these clothes are brand spankin’ new or just new to me – which is why I take advantage of clothing swaps. The premise of a clothing swap is that you offer someone something in exchange for something they have that you want – BRILLIANT. And in this economy, whether you are budget conscious, eco-conscious, or your fashion consciousness comes from what other people are wearing, you need to check one out.

The best part is that now it’s even easier! If you’re like me, you’ve spent time online picking out cute clothes. We look through various websites, pick what we want, put in our credit card and anxiously await the delivery. But what if you could do all this, and merely pay about $3 to ship an item to you? No cost for the clothes you are about to receive! While you are doing that, you can go through your own closet and pull out those clothes you’ll never wear again (really, you’ll NEVER wear them!) and post them and hope someone will love them as much as you did.

That’s the deal at Swap.com, a site where you can swap just about anything – books, videos, clothes, strollers, etc. They have a great video explaining how it works and it really couldn’t be easier.

If online shopping isn’t your thing, how about going to an actual swap? You can check on the website to see if there is an actual swap near you. Can’t find a swap, plan one yourself! I love that there are food swaps, clothing swaps, and more. No matter how many items you bring in, you can take out a bag full of clothes. Take a look at the video of an actual swap and you’ll be as amazed as I was.

I love this idea! I’m going to start looking for items I can post to Swap.com. Is swapping for you? What is something you’d love to find in a swap?

Stefanie Kushner
BagInspiration.com